I recently completed a project with Style.com and Levi’s¬ģ. ¬†Celebrating Levi’s¬ģ Curve ID collection, its goal was to showcase real women who had not only a variety of personal styles but also represented a variety of curves.

I had a lot of fun with it, and was given the opportunity to cast real women I’ve met while shooting for the blog.¬† (You’ll recognize a few!)

As I mentioned yesterday, the Fendi show was spot on the fashion mark.

To me, the highlight of the collection was the beautiful dressmaker detailing in several of the dresses. ¬†Pleats, texture play, and layering were utilized in combinations that kept the eye amused and the heart happy.

Wow! ¬†In my opinion, Prada was the first standout show of the season.

Fantastic work was done at Burberry in London, though. ¬†It was so great to see more than just outerwear from them this season. ¬†And in New York, Michael Kors and Marc Jacobs were excellent. ¬†(Garance and I both want to live in that Michael Kors dream world next summer – and it is well-documented how much I admire Marc’s work.) ¬†Then in Milan this morning, Fendi continued their string of spot-on fashion moments.

I had no idea who this was when I shot her. ¬†I mean, I know who Corinne Bailey Rae is; I just didn’t know this was her! ¬†I think I would expect to see her in London, but it didn’t connect for some reason here in NYC.

I think it’s so interesting when you meet someone like Corinne, who is so artistically gifted ¬†- and able to express that gift not only through the instrument of her voice but also the execution of her style.

As I’ve mentioned before, I think some people have lost the thread on how to relate to fashion shows.¬† Shows aren’t something that should make you feel bad about not being able to afford what you’re seeing, or not looking like a model.¬† Instead, they should just be pure inspiration for color, silhouette, genre, pattern matching…and DIY projects.

This denim jacket, for example, is a great DIY.¬† Steal your boyfriend’s denim jacket, split it up the side to your true waist, slide a belt through, cut the sleeves off, and let it billow.

It’s a great example of how to be ahead of the curve; no need to wait six months for this trend to hit stores.

But to me, these are two separate pictures; above is a great shot of Marina, but below is a shot about the beauty of clothes in motion.

It’s the same reason I shoot so many people on their bicycles; shooting a person walking and smiling at the camera for you is one kind of movement, but a completely unselfconscious shot in which you see the flounced hem kicking up and the silk shirt billowing as she saunters shows you a beauty in the silhouette that your average standing portrait can never achieve.

Above is Richard Chai, who I’ve known for a while and who has consistently great style.¬† That’s not the main reason I took this photo, though; it’s also a guide to how I should buy a jean jacket.

Like almost everyone out there, I am hypercritical about how things fit on me.¬† Jean jackets never seem to hit me at the right place.¬† But then I look at this picture of Richard – who has a couple inches on me – and the jacket hits at the same place they always hit on me!¬† It’s making me rethink things.¬† Maybe I’ve been too self-conscious.¬† Because, really – this is a great look.

To be honest, this is the entire reason I started The Sartorialist.¬† I was hungry for a set of visual references.¬† If I thought someone was dressed well, I wanted time to look back at images and go over them – to learn why I thought that, since sometimes in the moment it’s hard to piece it all together.

Back to the jacket, though; it’s not just the shape, but the fabric.¬† There is an easiness, and a softness, that you just can’t get with a true jean jacket.

I was really excited to read today onWWD.com that Aspesi has launched a new international e-commerce site.

Aspesi is one of my first stops in Milan when I go shopping, along with Piombo (now available at Barneys) andAl Bazar.¬† I want to say the store is world-famous (but it might be Euro-famous?) for their down-filled outerwear – especially theirdown-filled shirt.

I would imagine I probably have 5 or 6 pieces of Aspesi outerwear in a range of styles – overcoat, shirts, layering vests (like the Italians wear on their scooters!), a nylon sportcoat…

To now be able to buy it online and have it shipped direct to door is not only great because of the convenience, but it is also going to open up space in my suitcase that is always reserved for my new purchases from Milan. ¬†Believe me – a puffy shirt takes more space than you think!

The other day I read inWWD that Marc Jacobs is in negotiations to take over the Dior job.

My first reaction was – oh, that’s crazy.¬† That’ll never happen.¬† Why would he leave Louis Vuitton – where he built the entire clothing image of the brand – to go to Dior?

Something I hadn’t thought about, though, is the couture element that Dior offers.¬† I have no clue what his dreams are, but to offer that to someone who is as much of a design artist as he is… the idea is fascinating, and must be at play here. ¬†I personally would love to see him have a team like that at his disposal.¬† What a kick in the ass that would give the entire couture season!

The last couple of seasons it’s been all about the solid color coat in all forms – pea coat, overcoat, nylon.¬† But I love the idea of bringing some pattern back into outerwear.

I love the idea of it especially in the context of those big, plaid coats – with shorter sleeves, and at a hip length and no longer – but the most important thing is to have some sort of nipped waist (see above); without it you look like some sort of giant square.

Even if it doesn’t come with that kind of silhouette, it’s reasonably easy for any tailor to add a dart in the back, as you would with a shirt.

I wrote this post five years ago. ¬†Everything I remember is still as strong as it was to live it ten years ago.

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I remember 9/11 like it was yesterday.

I remember I was working on the seating chart for James Coviello’s fashion show which was the next day.

I remember a model came by for a casting and was telling one of the designers about an accident at the World Trade Center just as my phone rang and James told me about the planes and I looked down at my computer and the photos were already on CNN.com.

I remember a few moments later walking up 7th Avenue towards James‚Äô office. The streets were jammed-packed with people walking up from downtown. It wasn’t until that moment that I began to really realize how big this could get. The towers still hadn’t fallen but you could just tell how badly this could end. After about one more block I turned left and headed straight home.

I remember that even before I made it home I was going into emergency mode. I needed to get cash, I needed to get bottled water, I needed to get canned goods. I have never been in a war or natural disaster but it is odd how clear the basics become when you are in that situation.

I remember going into the nearby grocery store. It was packed with people and absolutely silent.¬† No one was talking and no cell phones ringing because all phones were down. ¬†No carts or hand baskets were available; people were packing groceries into empty shipping boxes and pushing them around the store with their feet because they were so overloaded with essentials. Someone dropped a jar of spaghetti sauce and it exploded with a loud, glass crunching boom‚Ä¶.and everyone froze like deer in the headlights. I remember seeing one guy buying only fresh fruit and yogurt; that seemed like an odd strategy to me. When I got home one of my neighbors asked why I was buying so many groceries. ¬†I said, “because we are on an island.‚ÄĚ ¬†That changed the look on his face and he walked away.

I remember being able to watch news coverage on TV and being able to look out my South-facing window next to the TV and seeing the real scene. It was truly surreal.

I remember it was beautiful and sunny and it was that way for the next few days but all I wanted was for the rain to come and wash away the smoke and the smell of burnt iron.

I remember feeling so isolated because Manhattan is an island and it is tough to get off an island quickly – especially with a two-year-old. By the same token, it is tough to get things onto an island so I really worried about if we would have enough food and supplies. The stores were picked clean and there was no telling how long it would take to restock.

I remember seeing the towers fall while watching TV but not understanding what I was seeing while it was happening. I didn’t see it on the videos we all see now, I saw it on a live-feed shot from a news helicopter above – the angle was so weird and close that it was hard to grasp what was happening.

I remember jogging from my apartment down to the WTC all that summer. I can still picture in my mind exactly how it looked down there and still when I walk down there I still expect to see the towers. ¬†Even more than missing the towers when I’m downtown I sometime think I will run over to the bookstore that was at the base of a WTC, completely forgetting it is not there anymore.

Five years later I still remember everything about that day and I probably always will.

Didn’t there used to be a job called “laundress”? ¬†Wasn’t it a job for a person who specialized in taking care of your clothes – washing, laundering, keeping them in order? ¬†Does it still exist?

I’ve been googling to try and find out, but no luck. ¬†I mean, to me it sounds like an obvious opportunity in this economy. ¬†Taking care of the clothes you have is better than just going out and picking up new items every season, and not wearing a good piece because it hasn’t been updated or is in slight disrepair. ¬†I think a lot of times, as Americans, we tend to just pitch things. ¬†That, or they sit in our closets for years, unworn.

Anyone have a lead for me? ¬†I’d love to find out if the job still exists in New York, or anywhere.

As I mentioned yesterday, Junya also had a couple great suggestions for how to hem your pants.

The one I thought that seemed most simple, but was also subversively brilliant, was this idea of a denim hem (the kind of hem you find on jeans) on a pair of classic wool trousers.¬† It’s funny, because it looks so natural – and at the same time, I don’t know if I’ve ever really seen it.¬† It gives the pant a really sporty feel, which raises the question – is there right kind of trouser to do it with?¬† I’m thinking a heavier, more tweedy fabric is the best to try it out with.

Above is a look that is again subversively simple.¬† The pant is finished traditionally, but the suggestion of a cuff is in reality just the pant turned up like a pair of jeans.

This isn’t something that’s going to rock the world of fashion.¬† But it’s something that can turn an average pair of pants into something slightly more curious.

For the first time since high school, I’m considering doing the fully buttoned shirt.¬† I’ve seen guys doing it for a little while now but it’s usually with a plaid shirt, and it’s in the summer, and it looks too woodsy and hot……or it’s a dress shirt with a hard collar, and it just doesn’t look right to me.

But the way I envision it as being done well was reinforced in January at Bottega Veneta.¬† The shirt is with a jacket maybe, tonal, with a soft collar.¬† There’s no stiffness in the neck.¬† It’s wearable.¬† There is a hued palette; it’s not just this jarring white shirt, buttoned up.¬† There is a beautiful transition from the jacket to the knit shirt.

I hate to put up so many pictures of Garance, but I just sincerely think she has one of the most incredibly well-developed personal styles of anyone I know. ¬†It really has to do with her ability to mix pieces from all different price ranges.

And also – and this is very important – to be appropriate to the setting. ¬†In the picture above, for example, we were having breakfast at Ruschmeyer’s in Montauk. ¬†Garance stole a pair of my floral print Etro shorts and mixed them with a Breton-striped shirt under a vintage kid’s sweatshirt, and pink Zara ballerinas. ¬†As you can see above, she does sporty as well as she does the red carpet.

And here, for example: on the way back from the beach at Ditch Plains, Garance has stolen my shirt. ¬†However, when you looks this good, I’m not complaining.

She is also wearing a hat that she bought at a Montauk drugstore, because she hates the direct sun. ¬†Again, the key here is not the maker of the shirt, the maker of the hat…it’s about the visual impact that it makes. ¬†I think Garance’s background as an artist helps her look past the price tag and see the potential of things.

It’s supposed to be a high of 65 degrees, and rainy all day today. ¬†It’s the perfect mood to start my Fall shopping.

Actually…I’ve already started. ¬†My first real decision is going to happen when I go to the tailor and start hemming the pants that I bought. ¬†I know it sounds simple – but it’s not so simple. ¬†It’s actually one of the few places that a man can put a more personal stamp on his clothing.

I’ve been looking through my old files and thought Burberry had a lot of good suggestions for pant hem options.

ABOVE: Slim, and right at the ankle, no break.

ABOVE: Slim, past the ankle, with lots of break.

ABOVE: Last but not least: above the ankle, with an extra wide cuff.

Junya Watanbe also had a couple very interesting suggestions for pant hems; I’ll show you those tomorrow.

I didn’t have many “dreams” when I started the blog. ¬†But, one of the only pipe dreams I had was to someday shoot something for Italian Vogue. ¬†I never imagined that it would actually happen, but it was just something that I had, and that drove me.

So, I am extremely humbled to share with you a shoot that I did for Vogue Italia for their August edition. ¬†Even though I had done things for Vogue Pelle before, you can’t imagine my shock and awe when I got the call about shooting something for Franca.

It’s funny. ¬†When you get the call about doing something you’ve always wanted to do, you wonder – can I really do this? ¬†But I was very happy with the result. ¬†It was very fun to work with Patti Wilson and the incredibly high level of skill and talent she brings to a shoot. ¬†It was also great to have the chance to shoot cool young ladies such as Keira Chaplin, Poppy Delevigne, Vanessa Traina, and the Richards sisters.

So, yesterday Garance and I decided to turn our staycation in New York into a road trip. ¬†We hopped into a rental car and headed west to Indianapolis for a Bazbeaux¬†pizza.

As most of you in Indiana know, Bazbeaux¬†is one of the top-rated restaurants in Indianapolis. ¬†I happened to have been there at its very beginning, when it opened alongside clothing store Verve in 1986. ¬†Working at Verve made me an unofficial and happy taste tester for the novelty pizzas.

Meanwhile, Garance is happy to report that my build up of the place was deserved: the pizza is amazing.